After a week of totally unscientific polling, in which visitors to my Facebook page listed their favorite crime/thriller/mystery writers, we came up with a list of 276 beloved writers. They’re listed here in a ranked order–and I’m vain enough to be relieved that visitors to my page like my books! With 276 writers, there are bound to be ones you never encountered, so here’s to some happy reading days ahead–a way to avoid thinking about the endless cold or endless drought–whichever your particular affliction may be.
| Paretsky | Sara | |
| Grafton | Sue | |
| Crombie | Deborah | |
| Penny | Louise | |
| Sayers. | Dorothy | L. |
| Bland | Eleanor | Taylor |
| James | P.D. | |
| Allingham | Margery | |
| Christie | Agatha | |
| Kellerman | Faye | |
| Barnes | Linda | |
| Muller | Marcia | |
| Peters | Elizabeth | |
| Stabenow | Dana | |
| Lehane | Dennis | |
| Burke | Alafair | |
| George | Elizabeth | |
| King | Laurie | R. |
| Rendell | Ruth | |
| Rozan | S.J. | |
| Spencer-Fleming | Julia | |
| Winspear | Jacqueline | |
| Hammett | Dashiell | |
| Stout | Rex | |
| Cody | Liza | |
| Evanovich | Janet | |
| Hess | Joan | |
| Maron | Margaret | |
| McDermid | Val | |
| Millar | Margaret | |
| O’Connell | Carol | |
| Reichs | Kathy | |
| Burke | James | Lee |
| MacDonald | John | D. |
| Barr | Nevada | |
| Burke | Jan | |
| Fairstein | Linda | |
| Greenwood | Kerry | |
| Grimes | Martha | |
| Larsson | Åsa | |
| Leon | Donna | |
| Lippman | Laura | |
| Marsh | Ngaio | |
| Rice | Craig | |
| Sjöwall | Maj | |
| Conan | Doyle | Arthur |
| Kellerman | Jonathan | |
| Krueger | William | Kent |
| Leonard | Elmore | |
| Vargas | Fred | |
| Atkinson | Kate | |
| Beaton | M.C. | |
| Black | Cara | |
| Davis | Dorothy | Salisbury |
| Davis | Lindsey | |
| Flynn | Gillian | |
| French | Tana | |
| George | Anne | |
| Gordon | Alison | |
| Gran | Sara | |
| Griffiths | Elly | |
| Gur | Batya | |
| Highsmith | Patricia | |
| Hill | Susan | |
| Hughes | Dorothy | |
| Läckberg | Camilla | |
| MacInnes | Helen | |
| Marklund | Liza | |
| Matera | Lia | |
| McIntosh | D.J. | |
| McPherson | Catriona | |
| Mina | Denise | |
| Moyes | Patricia | |
| Orczy | Emma | |
| Ryan | Hank | Phillipi |
| Sigurðardóttir | Yrsa | |
| Stewart | Mary | |
| Storey | Alice | |
| Tey | Josephine | |
| Walters | Minette | |
| Waters | Sarah | |
| Chandler | Raymond | |
| Connelly | Michael | |
| Crais | Robert | |
| Creasey | John | |
| Fforde | Jasper | |
| Francis | Dick | |
| Gardner | Earl | Stanley |
| Grisham | John | |
| Higgins | George | V. |
| King | Stephen | |
| Larsson | Stieg | |
| MacDonald | Ross | |
| Mankell | Henning | |
| Parker | Robert | |
| Thomas | Ross | |
| Thompson | Jim | |
| Wahlöö | Per | |
| Westlake | Donald | |
| Abbott | Megan | |
| Abbott | Patty | Nase |
| Adams | Ellery | |
| Aird | Catherine | |
| Albert | Susan | |
| Allen | Stacy | |
| Andrews | Donna | |
| Anthony | Evelyn | |
| Armstrong | Charlotte | |
| Atwood | Taylor | Phoebe |
| Aubert | Rosemary | |
| Bartlett | Lorraine | |
| Blackwell | Juliet | |
| Blómkvist | Stella | |
| Bowen | Gail | |
| Bowen | Rhys | |
| Brackett | Leigh | |
| Braddon | Mary | Elizabeth |
| Brand | Christianna | |
| Braun | Lilian | Jackson |
| Brown | Rita | Mae |
| Byerrum | Ellen | |
| Campbell | Bonny | Jo |
| Capponi | Pat | |
| Carlton | Marjorie | |
| Clark | Marcia | |
| Cleeves | Anne | |
| Conley | Jen | |
| Cooper | Susan | Rogers |
| Cornue | Virginia | |
| Cornwell | Patricia | |
| Coup | Terri | Lynn |
| Cross | Amanda | |
| Delany | Vicki | |
| Dereske | Jo | |
| DiSilverio | Laura | |
| Donaghue | Emma | |
| DuMaurier | Daphne | |
| Duncan | Elizabeth | J. |
| Dunn | Carola | |
| Ellison | J.T. | |
| Fossum | Karen | |
| Fradkin | Barbara | |
| Fraser | Antonia | |
| Frazer | Margaret | |
| Freveletti | Jamie | |
| Gagnon | Michelle | |
| Gardner | Lisa | |
| George | Kaye | |
| Gilbert | Michael | |
| Goldstein | Debra | |
| Graham | Caroline | |
| Graves | Sarah | |
| Gray | Alex | |
| Hamilton | Denise | |
| Harlick | Robin | |
| Harris | Charlaine | |
| Harris | C.S. | |
| Hendricks | Vicki | |
| Hillerman | Anne | |
| Jaffarian | Sue | Ann |
| Jance | J.A. | |
| Jennings | Maureen | |
| Jones | Darynda | |
| Jones | Elizabeth | |
| Keene | Carolyn | |
| Keller | Julia | |
| Kendall | Kay | |
| Kijewski | Karen | |
| La | Plante | Lynda |
| Linds | Gayle | |
| Locke | Attica | |
| Lockridge | Frances | |
| Lombri | Linda | |
| Lutz | Lisa | |
| MacInerney | Karen | |
| Maffini | Mary | Jane |
| Maffini | Victoria | |
| Massey | Sujata | |
| Matthews | Francine | |
| McClendon | Lisa | |
| McCullough | Karen | |
| McLeod | Charlotte | |
| Milchman | Jenny | |
| Moss | Jennifer | |
| Munger | Kate | |
| Nabb | Magdalen | |
| Neuhaus | Nele | |
| O’Connor | Gemma | |
| O’Shaughnessy | Perri | |
| Paton | Walsh | Jill |
| Pawel | Rebecca | |
| Perry | Anne | |
| Pauwels | C.L. | |
| Pickens | Cathy | |
| Robb | J.D. | |
| Roos | Kelly | |
| Rule | Ann | |
| Sanxay | Holding | Elizabeth |
| Sartor | Nancy | |
| Sellers | L.J. | |
| Shames | Terry | |
| Slaughter | Karin | |
| Sokoloff | Alexandra | |
| Spindler | Erica | |
| Staincliffe | Cath | |
| Stevens | Chevy | |
| Terrell | Beth | |
| Terrell | Jaden | |
| Thompson | Lesley | |
| Tursten | Helene | |
| Unger | Lisa | |
| Welsh | Louise | |
| White | Ethel | Lina |
| Wilson | Laura | |
| Wilson | Wesley | Valerie |
| Zeh | Juli | |
| Abbott | Jeff | |
| Atkins | Ace | |
| Baldacci | David | |
| Bronzini | Bill | |
| Bruen | Ken | |
| Buchan | John | |
| Cain | James | M. |
| Campbell | Robert | |
| Carr | Caleb | |
| Charteris | Leslie | |
| Clifford | Joe | |
| Cohen | Gabriel | |
| Cohen | Jeff | |
| Costain | Thomas | B. |
| Crispin | Edmund | |
| Dexter | Colin | |
| Dickson | Carr | John |
| Freeling | Nicholas | |
| Gil | Bartholomew | |
| Goldsborough | Robert | |
| Grabenstein | Chris | |
| Greeley | Andrew | |
| Greene | Graham | |
| Hallinan | Tim | |
| Handler | David | |
| Harris | Thomas | |
| Hewson | David | |
| Hiaasen | Carl | |
| Hillerman | Tony | |
| Hopkins | Bill | |
| Hughes | Declan | |
| Innes | Michael | |
| Isles | Greg | |
| James | Dean | |
| James | Seeley | |
| Kerr | Phillip | |
| Koryta | Michael | |
| Lockridge | Richard | |
| McGarrity | Michael | |
| McGinty | Adrian | |
| Monson | Mike | |
| Nesbø | Jo | |
| Neville | Stuart | |
| Patterson | James | |
| Pears | Iain | |
| Peters | Ellis | |
| Pierce | Rob | |
| Pitts | Tom | |
| Poe | Edgar | Allen |
| Preston | Douglas | |
| Queen | Ellery | |
| Rankin | Ian | |
| Rhatigan | Chris | |
| Rosenfelt | David | |
| Sansom | C.J. | |
| Simenon | Georges | |
| Twain | Mark | |
| White | Dave | |
| Willieford | Charles | |